I'm finishing off my basement which includes a bar that I'd like to finish with a drystack looking stone veneer product. It's about 50 sf with a height of 3 ft. From everything I've read about the installation, the preferred method is metal screen attached to 1/2 OSB and then mortar over the screen. My concern with this method and my project is the total thickness of the stone, plywood, and mortar would eat into the foot rest thickness and the over hang of the bar top.
What alternatives would there be to the above method that would minimize the total thickness of the installed stone veneer? Would I be able to just use cement board and mortar the stone directly to it like laying tile? Any suggestions?

 

Cement board and modified thinset will work fine.